Tatkal Train Ticket Booking

Tatkal train ticket booking is a convenient way to get a confirmed berth in trains in Indian Railways on an urgent basis. Unplanned or unforeseen train journeys happen every now and then and you do not get the time to book a train ticket well in advance. With last minute bookings, especially during the peak seasons, it seems difficult to find an available berth in the train. Hence, Tatkal booking comes handy in such a situation. You can book Tatkal train ticket online or over a Indian railways reservation counter. For online Tatkal booking, you need an IRCTC login id and password, which you can create on its website, beforehand.

The Tatkal ticket reservation scheme was started to aid travellers who are not able to book their tickets in advance or need to travel on an urgent basis. The service is available at all the Indian Railways reservation counters. You can also avail the Tatkal train ticket booking online facility. The scheme covers most Mail and Express trains across the country and includes almost every class of reserved train travel. The scheme was launched by Mr Nitish Kumar during his stint as the Minister of Railways. Over the years, certain changes have been made to Tatkal booking to make the scheme all the more efficient.

As per the latest updates, Tatkal booking timing are divided according to the travel class. The window for Tatkal booking opens at 10 a.m. for the AC classes only. The non-AC and sleeper class Tatkal booking opens at 11 a.m., an hour later. For over the counter reservations, you might have to reach the railway reservation counter early as it is usual to expect a queue. You can also use the IRCTC Tatkal option, which is the official and online mode of booking a Tatkal ticket. Booking train ticket online, you have the flexibility of checking IRCTC Tatkal seat availability for a number of trains, something not feasible at the physical counter with limited time on your hands.

It is important to note that Tatkal train ticket booking starts at 10 a.m., a day before the date of journey. For instance, if someone plans to catch a train on the 5th of December, the passenger would be able to access the service at any railway station ticket counter and over the Internet from 10 a.m. on the previous day only, i.e., the 4th of December. However, booking agents, including the IRCTC agents, are not allowed to use tatkal booking service before 12:00 p.m. In fact, all computerised reservation counters at railway stations are exclusively meant for Tatkal reservations from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Normal bookings are allowed only if there are no seeker for Tatkal ticket.

Want a ticket urgently, but all the available tatkal berths have already been taken? Indian Railways has worked out a way around this as well. Now you can book a confirmed train ticket through the Tatkal quota for an important journey you cannot afford to miss. This service is known as Premium Tatkal and under this, you can book a confirmed ticket by checking availability under this quota. The fare for Premium Tatkal tickets is calculated according to the surge in demand and it is done on a real time basis. This service is exclusive to specific trains on specific routes which have a higher number of passengers seeking train reservations. Currently 80 trains fall under this quota. The same Tatkal rules apply here as well.

Tatkal reservation is an advantage to those as well who booked their ticket days before the date of journey, but got a waitlisted ticket instead. After checking the latest PNR Status of your train ticket with no confirmation in sight, you still have the choice of booking a Tatkal ticket 24 hours prior to the preparation of charts. A confirmed berth through the Tatkal booking means you can safely cancel the waitlisted ticket with all certainty.